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The Viking Code

Curious CasesSeries 12

4 Extra Debut. How do ancestry DNA tests work? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate. From November 2018.

"Is it true all British people can trace their ancestry to Vikings and how do ancestry DNA tests work?" asks Chloe Mann from Worthing.

Genetic ancestry tests promise to reveal your ancestral origins and map your global heritage, but do they? Rutherford and Fry are here to bust some myths.

Adam takes a trip through Norse history with Viking historian Janina Ramirez, whilst flying over the Medieval town of Ludwig.

Meanwhile Hannah discovers how DNA ancestry tests work with evolutionary geneticist Mark Thomas, including why most of us can rightly reclaim our royal lineage.

If you have any more Curious Cases for the team to solve, please send them in for consideration: [email protected]

Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

Available now

26 minutes

Last on

Thu 25 Nov 202121:45
BBC Radio 4 Extra

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  • Wed 21 Nov 201809:30
    BBC Radio 4
  • Wed 21 Nov 201820:45
    BBC Radio 4
  • Sun 21 Nov 202110:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sun 21 Nov 202121:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Thu 25 Nov 202111:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Thu 25 Nov 202121:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra

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